Shaykh Fazl-i Ahmad Faruqi Naqshandi Mujaddidi (1231 AH)

One of the renowned Naqshbandī Sufi masters of Peshawar city was the luminary saint and mystic Ḥaz̤rat Shaykh Faz̤l-i Aḥmad Fārūqī Naqshbandī Mujaddidī, also known as Ḥaz̤rat Jio Ṣāḥib. In written works, he is often referred to as Faz̤l-i Aḥmad Maʻṣūmī.

Ancestry

His real name was Ghulām Muḥammad. He ancestral lineage goes to the second caliph of Islam ʻUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb raḍiy-Allāhu ʻanhu, through the elder brother of Mujaddid Alf-i S̲ānī Shāh ʻAbdur-Razzāq Fārūqī.

He was a maternal great-grandson of Shaykh Aḥmad Sirhindī. His father was Shaykh Niyāz Aḥmad Mujaddidī, son of Mīr Ṣafar Aḥmad Maʻṣūmī. Mīr Ṣafar Aḥmad is the author of Maqāmāt-i Maʻṣūmī, a renowned book on the biography of Khwāja Muḥammad Maʻṣūm Fārūqī Sirhindī. Mīr Ṣafar Aḥmad was also a maternal grandson of Khwāja Muḥammad Maʻṣūm. His paternal lineage is as follows:

Shaykh Faz̤l-i Aḥmad, son of Shaykh Niyāz Aḥmad, son of Mīr Ṣafar Aḥmad, son of Shaykh Faz̤lullāh, son of Shaykh ʻAbdul-Qādir, son of Shaykh Muḥammad Amīn, son of Shāh ʻAbdur-Razzāq, son of Makhdūm ʻAbdul-Aḥad Sirhindī (father of Imām Rabbānī).

Shaykh Faz̤l-i Aḥmad was born approximately in 1151 AH in the noble town Sirhind, India. He completed his religious education and acquired mastery in all exoteric sciences, including jurisprudence, Ḥadīth, and Tafsīr. He received spiritual mentoring from his maternal grandfather Shaykh Muḥammad Rasā Mujaddidī, and acquired the deputyship in the Naqshbandī Mujaddidī Path. Later, he associated himself with Sayyid ʻAbdullāh Bukhārī, a deputy of Shaykh ʻAbdul-Aḥad Waḥdat Sirhindī, and received deputyship in the Qādrī and Chishtī Paths. He once said: “I have served the venerable Mīr Ṣāḥib (Sayyid ʻAbdullāh) a lot. All these blessings (barakāt) are a result of his company and favors.

His khānqāh was in Peshawar where he used to live. To spread the Naqshbandī Order, he traveled to many places and journeyed at least five times from Peshawar to Bukhara. His son established a khānqāh in Kokand, Uzbekistan. The rulers of Bukhara were his disciples.

He established a number of Islamic colleges in Afghanistan and Central Asia, and had hundreds of deputies who spread this Sufi Order to far and wide. Local rulers and kings counted themselves among his disciples, including Shah Murad (1785-1800), founder of the Mangit dynasty of Bukhara (1785-1920).

He used to deliver sermons and lectures and would often teach Fiqh and Tasawwuf to his followers, particularly he would read and explain the letters of Shaykh Aḥmad Sirhindī, the Maktūbāt. All the Sufi masters of the Naqshbandī Order have made a practice of teaching the Maktūbāt to their disciples, and this book is of great importance for Naqshandī seekers and masters.

A student once recited a Naat in his presence to praise the Holy Prophet ṣall-Allāhu ʻalayhi wasallam. When he recited this verse:

Where is the praise and admiration that can describe you?

The shaykh liked this so much, he prayed for the student and granted him a piece of land about 2.5 acres and a well.

It is said he gave away all his possessions in charity for the sake of Allāh Almighty, and he did this three times in his life.

Spiritual lineage

His spiritual lineage to Imām Rabbānī Shaykh Aḥmad Sirhindī in the Naqshbandī Path is as follows:

  1. Imām Rabbānī Shaykh Aḥmad Sirhindī (d.1034 AH)
  2. Khwāja Muḥammad Maʻṣūm Fārūqī Sirhindī (d.1079 AH)
  3. Shaykh ʻUbaydullāh Sirhindī and Khwāja Muḥammad Naqshband Sirhindī alias Ḥujjatullāh (d.1115 AH)
  4. Shaykh Muḥammad Pārsā Sirhindī
  5. Shaykh Muḥammad Rasā Sirhindī
  6. Shaykh Faz̤l-i Aḥmad Fārūqī Mujaddidī Naqshbandī Peshāwarī (d.1231 AH)
  7. Shaykh Faz̤l-i Aḥad Mujaddidī
  8. Shaykh Faz̤l-i Quddūs Mujaddidī
  9. Shaykh Faz̤l-i Ghaffār Mujaddidī
  10. Mawlānā Shujāʻ an-Nūr
  11. Mawlānā ʻAbdullāh Jān Fārūqī Mujaddidī (d.2004)

He died on 30 Dhul-Ḥijja 1231 AH (1816) and is buried in Peshawar, Pakistan. His noble grave and shrine is located in Mohalla Faz̤l-e Ḥaqq, Yakatoot, Peshawar city, and is a place of pilgrimage for his spiritual followers.

His biography was written by one of his Bukharan deputies under the title Tuḥfat al-Murshid (Persian). Its Urdu translation has been published.

Malfūẓāt (speeches)

Following are some passages from his speeches:

One who is rejected by a single saint is rejected by all saints. Similarly one accepted by a single saint is accepted by all saints. Sheep and dogs have distinctiveness, the lions of Allāh are united as one.

It is necessary for a Sufi to believe that his own self is the worst of all. One who considers himself better than anyone, never reaches his goal.

The hell and the paradise are always together with you, while you are searching for them in the distance. Your good character is the paradise and your evil character is the hell.

Deputies

Some names of his deputies known to me at this time are:

  1. Shaykh Faz̤l-i Ḥaqq Mujaddidī (son)
  2. Shaykh Faz̤l-i Aḥad Mujaddidī (son)
  3. Mīr Ghulām Maʻṣūm (son-in-law)
  4. Sayyid Niẓām ad-Dīn Balkhī Mazārī, author of Tuḥfat al-Murshid (Persian)

References and links

  1. Facebook page: Sultan ul awliya
  2. Wikipedia Urdu article on his biography

Gallery

Following pictures are copyrighted so I have only given the links where they can be viewed legally.

  1. The khānqāh and shrine of Hazrat Ji Peshawari (main entrance): Peshawar
  2. The khānqāh and shrine of Hazrat Ji Peshawari (graves): Peshawar
  3. The khānqāh and shrine of Hazrat Ji Peshawari (courtyard): Peshawar
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4 Responses to Shaykh Fazl-i Ahmad Faruqi Naqshandi Mujaddidi (1231 AH)

  1. Waheed Ullah says:

    Assalam O Aalikum,
    Thank you very much for this great blog on a saint who was the most popular saint of his time but not known to the later world. I am sending you more information about him and his ancestors who were also great saint and changed the world.

  2. Mohammad Samer says:

    Hi my name is Samer from Singapore. I am looking to join Naqshbandi Mujaddidi tariqah. Can someone help me.

    • Kashaf says:

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